The Mystery of Captain Mondragon
by CreamCheeseAlchemist
Summary: Upon discovering dark rumors about his family, Joaquin goes in search of answers. Completed and very much AU.
1. Chapter 1

Reel FX and 20th Century Fox own Book of Life. I don't make money off fanfic and if I get sued I won't be able to get the action figures. I did some googling to try to keep to the non-movie details, culture specifics and physics of having lost an eye but there's definitely bits here I don't expect to see in a sequel.

_**-THE MYSTERY OF CAPTAIN MONDRAGON-**_

"Do we even celebrate Cinqo de Mayo?" Maria asked during the preparations.

Manolo gave her a sheepish grin, "It's no Independence Day but Joaquin is coming back today and..."

Maria rested a finger on her husband's lips, "Shhh, we don't want to ruin the surprise."

All of Saint Angel and then some were there, seated in the bullring. Ok, maybe not everyone but you do get the occasional grouch who doesn't go to gran fiestas like this.

Regardless, the food was excellent and a good time was being had by all. Joaquin was honored by the reception but the toasts hadn't started yet. Maria and Manolo stood up. Water was poured for all.

Manolo rambled on for a bit before Maria smiled warmly at Joaquin, "What he means to say is you're going to be a godfather."

Joaquin squealed and hugged his two best friends, the only family he'd ever really known. And then, a voice in the crowd called out.

"You sure you want to do that?" Ok, so maybe one grouch came to the party but he waS from out of town.

The three amigos looked confused. Maria's father, General Posada, looked down.

"My village negotiated with Chakal to keep him from attacking. We gave him all sorts of valuables, including a bride. And that kept us safe until his wife gave him a son. Captain Mondragon went and took the boy and brought him here to this very town, passing him off as his own."

Joaquin sat back down, horror dawning in his eyes.

"It's not true," Manolo insisted despite the distinct reaction of those who had been old enough to remember when Chakal had first attacked.

Maria sat down and looked Joaquin in the eye, "Even if this is true, it changes nothing."

Manolo looked for a chair then sat on the floor and grasped Joaquin's hand, "My family has given me great strength but they do not define me nor are they only by blood, brother."

"Fool. You would let Chakal's son be your child's godfather?"

General Posada marched right over to the stranger and smacked him, "Joaquin has saved this town many times over. These are old rumors. He is a good man and I was certainly open to having him as my son in law." Maria shook her head, a bemused look on her face.

"Fools, the lot of you," the man muttered as he left the bullring, making it 100% grouch-free.

"Thank you, General. All of you," Joaquin said, as he got up. Tears flowed from both eye and eye socket. "Everything I am is because of you but I must find this out for myself."

General Posada shot a glance at Maria and Manolo. "Very well, I will go with you."

Maria and Manolo immediately protested. "Someone needs to watch the town and I'm not about to let my pregnant daughter and her husband go traipsing about the land of the forgotten.

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"Be careful," Maria told her father as she hugged him by the edge of town, dawn's first light visible. She then hugged Joaquin and handed him a wrapped book, "If Chakal is really your father, this book will help."

"Are you sure about this? None of us care where you're from, just where you are now." Joaquin smiled at Manolo, "Your adventure into the underworld cleared things up for you. I hope to find that for myself." Manolo nodded and the two soldiers walked off into the sunrise.

Manolo suddenly called out, "Oh! Your grandson should be born by late October and the christening will be on Day of the Dead... I mean your grandson and god-" Maria shook her head, a knowing smile on her face.

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"When Captain Mondragon brought you to town, you were less than a week old. It was quite a sight, this hulking armless figure walking into town with a baby slung around his neck.

"Did you know him well?"

"He really kept to himself. Yes, we fought side by side, but he kept his own sleeping quarters and bathed alone and..."

"Ha! And you let him get away with that?"

"It was the middle of the revolution. We couldn't be too picky especially with a soldier as skilled as your father."

Joaquin smiled softly, "You believe he was really my father, then?"

"In all the ways that truly matter, yes. Even if he wasn't your father by blood, he lost both arms getting you away from Chakal. We quickly outfitted him with metal arms... Oh, he was tough. Refused to take anything to knock him out when we did it. Said he'd gone through worse, actually."

Joaquin mulled this over with childlike amazement.

"Come to think of it, he looked at you when he said that."

"Wait- you had a baby in there when you attached metal arms to him?!"

General Posada smiled apologetically, "It was the middle off the revolution. We didn't exactly have daycare facilities."

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And so they came to a spot where, legend had it, the entrance to the land of the forgotten was. "I supposed it should be called the land of the hungry," General Posada mused. "Why?" Joaquin asked. "Because we do remember Chakal but we don't mark his tomb with food." "Ah... You are sure Chakal and Captain Mondragon aren't the same person?"

The general laughed, "I saw them fight. Chakal was demanding we give you up. And it looked like that might save more lives if we did but Captain Mondragon begged for one last chance to fight Chakal one on one. It was like something out of the animal kingdom- endless reserves of energy and ferocity and then Chakal crawled off. Captain Mondragon stood for hours to make sure he wasn't coming back, blood leaking on the gravel, then his legs began to give out. We begged him to come back to camp to get patched up but he just wandered off. We didn't find his body until after the revolution. By then, it was just bones, rusted metal arms, remnants of cloth, and his mustache."

"Are all you humans this clueless?" Xibalba said as a way of greeting General Posada and Joaquin Mondragon.

TBC


	2. Chapter 2

Reel FX and 20th Century Fox own Book of Life. I don't make money off fanfic and if I get sued I won't be able to get the action figures. I did some googling to try to keep to the non-movie details and culture but there's definitely bits here I don't expect to see in a sequel. Given the references to the revolution in the movie, the setting could well be the 1920s or later. Also, the oscars are dead to me now.

As was tradition, the whole town only went to the train station to see someone off. So Manolo and Maria were alone on the platform waiting for her mother. Maria sat on a bench reading a crumpled decades-old copy of some California newspaper, something about a dead stagecoach driver, Charley something or other. Maria couldn't wait for her mother to come in, if only to refresh her reading material.

Manolo was leaned up against the wall, strumming a few notes here and there, trying to compose something about the adventures Joaquin and General Posada were having. Maria was well used to reading in all sorts of conditions, from her time in Barcelona, so scenes like this were quite common for the two of them. "Do you think it's true?" Manolo asked after a long moment of silence.

Maria set down her newspaper and the train whistle could be heard. "Worst case, there's always his mother he can look up to," she grinned.

Maria's mother was unmistakable. She had the same build and confident stride of her daughter but her hair was shorter and covered by a cloche hat that somewhat clashed with her otherwise quite Barcelonian dress. "It's been far too long!" She rushed to hug Maria and looked up at Manolo. "Is this my son-in-law? Oh, you look just like your father! How is Carlos?"

Maria looked horrified, unsure of whether her mother's flirtatious tone or forgetfulness was worse. Maria just mouthed "I'm sorry" as her mother chattered on as Manolo got the bags. His face was unreadable.

"Very much remembered," Manolo finally replied. "Oh! I'm so sorry! Maria told me that in one of her letters. You must think I am such a ditz!" Manolo wanted to say yes but he went and said something about how someone who produced Maria couldn't be that bad.

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"Maria tells me you're a singer."

Manolo set down her bags in his home. After all, his mother-in-law could hardly stay with General Posada since they were no longer together.

"Yes..." A nostalgic smile crept on her face as she took off her hat, revealing a curled bob underneath. "Will you play something for me while I unpack? San Angel used to be full of music until Señor Mondragon joined the army and I married the town pato..."

"Mother!"

"It's true. Captain Mondragon had the most beautiful voice. It's really a shame he didn't pursue it. I think that's why he ended up so bitter and left San Angel first."

At this blatant change of subject, Maria rolled her eyes and left the room.

"Did you see him when he fought off Chakal?" Manolo asked. "Only for a moment, when he brought Baby Joaquin into town before the battle. I had Maria on the way so I didn't pay much attention," Maria's mother sighed before asking Manolo to play again.

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"Well?" Xibalba grinned. "Your father is in my realm."

"But how? Every year, I put out bread and cakes for him on day of the dead!" Joaquin protested.

"A vey good question. Tell you what- I'll let you both into the land of the forgotten. If you can figure it out there, I'll let you both return to San Angel. If you don't..." He grinned especially predatory, "only one of you will be able to leave."

Joaquin fiercely shook his head, "No. I will be the one to stay if I lose this wager. General Posada will return to see his grandchild regardless, are we agreed?" Joaquin extended his hand out.

General Posada glared at Joaquin.

Xibalba made a face, "Fine. It won't be as fun a bet but you and your father would be more amusing to watch afterwards." His tar-filled hand thrust forward to seal the wager.

TBC


	3. Chapter 3

Reel FX and 20th Century Fox own Book of Life. I don't make money off fanfic and if I get sued I won't be able to get the action figures. I did some googling to try to keep to the non-movie details and culture but there's definitely bits here I don't expect to see in a sequel. Given the references to the revolution in the movie, the setting could well be the 1920s or later. Also, the oscars are dead to me now. And yay for not sleeping lol

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"I'm really not happy with this," General Posada said as he pointed his hook at Joaquin. As per the arrangement, the general remained in his body but Joaquin was in skeleton form. Joaquin just flipped up his eyepatch, curious to see if he needed it here. Yes, he'd seen one of the Adelita twins with one but he missed depth perception enough to at least try.

"Are you taking this seriously? Look around at this squalor," the general murmured. "It's like my generation. Such promise and it all went to waste." Joaquin nodded, "Whatever you can tell me might help me get out of here."

"Well, there were three of us- much like you, Maria and Manolo. I was always leaning towards being a soldier because in certain aspects I preferred the company of men." He looked sharply at Joaquin as if anticipating a certain reaction, "Don't interrupt. Your father was much like Manolo but he succumbed to family pressure and joined the army with me to please them. I know my former wife would have married him instead had he stuck with being a musician. But he allowed the bitterness to consume him and eventually he even deserted. Upon returning to San Angel, I married. We were good friends but after Maria was born, we split up and she moved back to Spain."

"And this is why I hate everyone," Chakal's voice hissed from the darkness. "Everyone betrays me. But at least my son has come here to stay." The malice never left his voice.

Joaquin's legs gave out, "You can't be Captain Mondragon. The two of you fought in San Angel..." Chakal walked over to him. General Posada stepped in front of Joaquin. "Don't waste your breath. Even now, his memory is fading. Here, we either hold onto our grudges or we forget what it hurts to remember." He shoved the general aside and looked down at Joaquin, "I haven't gone by Captain Mondragon in years but I am most certainly both him and your father."

Joaquin looked pleadingly at General Posada.

"You can't be. You may have been Captain Mondragon once but that is not who brought Joaquin to the town and fought to keep you out. And that person is in the land of the remembered, receiving food from all the people he..." And then, General Posada thought of his daughter. "SHE saved. It was your wife who took on the duties you abandoned and kept Joaquin away from you, wasn't it?"

"That's why my mother is remembered as Captain Mondragon rather than you, because she fought for what was right," Joaquin said as he stood up.

"Very good. I hate to admit it but you both can go back," Xibalba said as he appeared into view.

"NO!" Chakal shrieked and grabbed Joaquin. "Whatever wager you made, I wasn't part of it. My son is here and I won't let him go, especially with you. I'm not fooled for a moment as to what you want from him, marica."

General Posada looked down, just barely seeing Joaquin's bewildered expression.

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The General found Joaquin's body by the entrance to the land of the forgotten. Fighting back tears, he buried him with his one good hand and then headed to the nearest cantina.

TBC


	4. Chapter 4

Reel FX and Twentieth Century Fox own Book of Life. I am slowly collecting various books and toys from Funko and McDonalds but I would have to stop if they sued me.

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"It was only a matter of time. Joaquin could feel his memory growing dim as Chakal shoved him into the ground."Don't waste time holding onto your memories, son. None of your friends back home know you are here. Soon, very soon, I can reshape you into what I always intended."

Joaquin looked up, a defiant flame in his good eye. "I won't be used against... my friends." Inwardly, he winced as the names seemed more and more clouded. Chakal grinned, "You won't know better soon enough.

"I won't know you either," Joaquin smirked."Oh no? Look at our skulls, boy. In some time you won't remember anything of your life but what you are here." He pulled Joaquin up and drew his face towards him, "The bones don't lie. Our skulls have similar markings."

"NO!" Joaquin used what strength he could muster to push his father away and run. His memory might be getting fuzzy but the sense of wrongness was inescapable."Go and run! I have nothing but time and you will soon be the blank slate I need," Chakal called out.

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General Posada approached Joaquin's grave, lost in thought. "I brought you some of that limón and some churros," he murmured as he set them out on the grave. That first time...

Maria had sent him some coffee from Spain while she was at school. General Posada stood in the hallway, staring at the jar. And then, a knock on the door. He opened the door to Joaquin and the ragtag group of soldiers that never failed to make Joaquin look even more impressive. It was the first time the general had really noticed Joaquin was no longer a child. Day by day, it's hard to see the changes but there it was. A full mustache, broad shoulders, tall... The voice of duty said he should work on getting Maria such a husband as this. So, he invited the regiment in to try the coffee. It didn't take, so limón was brought in to ease everyone's stomachs. He assured them he would ask Maria if she could send them some tea from Granada next time. And so, this became a regular occurrence. Sometimes a poleo, or some Moroccan tea Maria sent from Spain, and limón was always on hand just in case. Joaquin had never let up on his training. Aside from the mishap with the Spanish coffee, he was able to fend off his fellow soldiers and hold a conversation with the general over tea at the same time. The General became more and more determined to have Joaquin as a son-in-law so this could continue when Maria came back. Perhaps desperately so, almost as though...

General Posada shook his head and looked down. Remembering was an important part of getting Joaquin back from the land of the forgotten but he really didn't want to indulge the thoughts he was beginning to have. It had been almost a year when he truly felt paternal pride- first in his own daughter, a storm of valor and beauty, and then in his future son-in-law who had come back from the underworld like some hero from Ancient Greece. (Maria sure didn't inherit her love of reading from her mother.) But where did that leave Joaquin? He was excellent company, and handsome and... "Nononono," screamed the voice of duty in his head. It has never been so loud before.

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Joaquin blinked. Why was he running? And then he heard someone calling out. Was that for him? All he could remember were letters floating somewhere in the fog.

"JOAQUINNNN!"

Before he could turn around, he could feel the chill brought on by the shadow hovering over him. "My son, don't you remember me?"

Nervously, Joaquin turned around towards the stranger. His eye took in the other figure with awe. This hulking creature was his father?

Chakal smiled as kindly as he could muster, "Do you see? Down here, without skin, we can identify who is family with these markings?"

Joaquin nervously moved his boney hand across his face, feeling the same texture he saw on Chakal's face. "I'm not alone here?

"Not at all. Those monsters above may have sent us down here by leaving us to starve every Day of the Dead but now that we are reunited, I know we can come up with a plan to take our revenge on them." Joaquin 's mind grasped on the subject but something still felt off to him. "Perhaps telling me our names will help jog my memory," he said in a small voice.

"Of course. I am known as Chakal and you- you're Joaquin M- Murieta.

Tbc. (I have most of the remaining chapters done, just need to doublecheck some references here and there)


	5. Chapter 5

Reel FX and Twentieth Century Fox own Book of Life. I am slowly collecting various books and toys from Funko and McDonalds but I would have to stop if they sued me. The only baptism info I could find was of people who were baptized when they were about 20 or 100, so I'm going with the Catholic default of a couple months I kept seeing elsewhere.

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Years before, some time before Maria returned to San Angel, Joaquin began leaning up against the general as he talked late into the night. All sorts of adventures and exotic lands and true love and...

"You have a way of making books sound interesting," he had murmured. General Posada nervously shifted away, "Something Maria does far better than me, I assure you." Joaquin had fallen against the floor, confused. "I should go," the general murmured then and now.

"I don't know if I should be the one to remember you, not when..." Gently, he picked up the younger man, making sure his legs were firmly against the elbow of his hooked hand. It would've been so much easier a thing h if Joaquin showed some signs of decay. Instead, it was though he was asleep in the general's arms- that any minute he would move or open his eye. "I'm not going to be able to make it to town like this," the general determined after some steps, resting them under the shade. He did have enough food for a while, at least. But he could hear a new internal voice gaining volume, calling him a coward.

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"They've been gone all summer," Manolo murmured as he strummed his guitar. Maria paced back and forth, rocking her newborn daughter Carmen to sleep in time to the music. Carmen, after Manolo's mother, and Guadalupe after Maria's paternal grandfather.

Maria's mother shook her head, "What did you expect? Sending off the town's most eligible bachelor with the town puto..."

"Mother! Please don't call him that! I know things ended badly but...," Maria began as she set baby Carmen down in the wicker bassinet. She then poured herself some coffee, a taste she'd picked up in Spain.

Her mother took a swig of her margarita, "It began badly. Jose and I began as romantic rivals, same as Manolo and Joaquin with you."

Manolo's eyes widened,"Wait- you and the general fought over Captain Mondragon?"

Maria spit out her coffee, "I really didn't need to know that."

"I didn't think you were so bourgeois, Maria!"

Maria stood up, "It's not about my father being homosexual. No one wants to hear about their parents' youthful ...escapades, not even Magnus Hirschfeld."

Manolo nodded, " I don't know who that is but I can see your point."

Maria sighed, "He's this doctor in Germany who studies sexuality and even wrote a movie about it."

"Oh! I could tell you stories about my parents though," Maria's mother said casually.

"NO!" Maria and Manolo said in unison.

"Suit yourselves," she laughed as she poured herself another margarita.

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It was so much to take in, everything Chakal explained to Joaquin as they looked for a way out of the land of the forgotten. "It does sound bad, but why destroy the entire town over it?" Chakal looked down, eyes narrowed, "You're weak." Joaquin didn't back down, "No. I just don't remember any of this and some girl I don't even remember not wanting to marry me doesn't seem to warrant... this. And, for that matter, why can you remember things and I can't?" "Because you're spineless and weak. If you don't learn to hold onto your hate, your memories will never hold," Chakal walked off.

Joaquin looked down for a long while. He then noticed something inside his jacket. He pulled out a strange book and began flipping through... blank pages? Staring up with a desperate eye as he put the book back, he looked for answers, memories, anything... Slowly, he smiled and called out, "Father! I found the cave of souls!"

Chakal's eyes gleamed as he took the few steps he needed to get there due to his size, "I knew you wouldn't disappoint me again." Joaquin smiled hopefully as the two climbed up, "If I help you, can we look for my mother afterwards?" Chakal glared at him while the sound of a skeletal horse at a fast gallop grew louder. Joaquin stood to face the rider. "This... person stole my name and stole you from me," Chakal hissed.

Joaquin studied the approaching figure. "Captain Mondragon" seemed smaller than he had imagined, with a mustache at an odd angle and a pleasant, if determined, face. He glanced back. "Don't be fooled like I was," Chakal hissed. "You will never be a proper bandit King if you don't destroy our enemies."

Joaquin pulled out his sword and got in position. In the reflection, he could see Chakal looking back with hateful glee on his face. Was this what he was supposed to be? And did he want that? The approaching figure on horseback halted, staring at Joaquin with a mixture of sadness and shock.

Tbc


	6. Chapter 6

Reel FX and Twentieth Century Fox own Book of Life. I am slowly collecting various books and toys from Funko and McDonalds but I would have to stop if they sued me. Next up: the McDonalds Chuy and Candlemaker as well as this kids book that either messed up the ending or reflects an earlier version.

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Taking a rest by a river, for a moment General Posada saw a flash of his younger self glowering in his own reflection. He took Joaquin off the horse he'd picked up in town and set him in the shade. /You know what you have to do, Jose. Joaquin can't win that bet without you remembering him./ The general shuddered. /I know but I'm scared./ /Of what? Of what you feel? Of what your daughter and her husband will say? Of what busybodies in town will say? Get a grip, general. You've fought bandits off with one hand and a gushing stump. A little thing like this should be nothing. He hasn't been a child for years. / The general nodded. His one hand shook less and less as he fumbled for a pair of cigars.

He smiled softly, thinking of one night a couple years back where he and Joaquin stood on his balcony looking out into the night. In a few short hours, the sun would rise. It was the most beautiful view inside San Angel. As he handed the younger man a cigar and lit it, yet another thing he had asked Maria to send, he was struck how the brief firelight reflected against Joaquin's skin. He wanted this night to last forever and that's exactly why he couldn't. The general looked away, "Your training is complete. There is nothing to keep you here, at least for now." "Are you sure about that?" Joaquin handed him a child's bonnet.

General Posada stared at him, shakily taking it. "This is Maria's, isn't it?" Joaquin nodded, "I don't think I need it anymore. The general's heart soared while his sense of duty shrieked for it to end. "I can't ask you to stay," he said finally. Joaquin smiled, "But will you wait for me?"

If the general hadn't so quickly looked away, he would have caught the hurt and confusion on Joaquin's face. He wanted nothing more than to say yes, to wrap his arms around the younger man- consequences be damned. But the consequences, the shame that would bring on them all... What would people say? He had helped raise Joaquin. Certainly there was a chance Maria would marry him- no other man in town was nearly as eligible. "We can't," the general whispered as he raced inside, squeezing the bonnet in his good hand.

As the sun rose a few short hours later, he and the other soldiers saw Joaquin off. He firmly handed Joaquin back Maria's old bonnet, "Do your duty and make us proud." Joaquin saluted, perhaps a bit coldly. Watching Joaquin ride off into that glorious sunrise, the general's sense of duty was satisfied and perhaps a bit smug. But his heart was breaking. Did things really have to be this way?

Even now, years later, the General still pondered the question but the time for questions was past. "No retreat..."

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"Y-you wanted me away from Chakal, didn't you? That's why you took me away, so I wouldn't become like him," Joaquin murmured as he let go of his sword and walked up to the horseback rider who nodded nervously.

Chakal hissed and grabbed Joaquin's arm, "This imposter made you weak! I won't have my own son be like this!" Joaquin whipped around, "But you aren't my only parent, are you?" Captain Mondragon smiled and flicked off the fake mustache, "You finally figured it out." Joaquin shook off Chakal's grip and hugged his mother, "Thank you for letting figure it out on my own." She ruffled his hair, "Can't have you losing a bet and being stuck here." "But I just found you! I can't just leave now." Chakal laughed evilly. "Get on my horse," his mother insisted. "But I'm not allowed to come with you into the Land of the Remembered," Joaquin murmured. Joaquin's mom smiled determinedly, "Someone will remember you soon enough and we will ride together until we both can enter!"

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"No surrender," General Posada insisted as he lit the cigar he had put in Joaquin's mouth. Apparently as long as the wager stood, Joaquin's body wouldn't decay. "No doubt you'll be creeped out by me but I won't let you stay in the land of the forgotten a moment longer."

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Joaquin could feel the fog returning as he and his mother rode along the outskirts of the land of the forgotten, Chakal never far behind. "I don't want to forget again," he whispered. She sighed,"I know. But this feels right, so hold onto that at least." Still, Joaquin's face glazed over despite his best efforts to fight. Chakal laughed triumphantly as he caught up with them.

Joaquin blinked, inhaling something. "The General, Jose... He remembers me and he... He .." Joy-filled tears poured from both eyes. "Hold on, let's get out of here and you can tell me all about it," his mother beamed.

"Hold it! Where do you two think you're going?" The Candlemaker looked down on them sternly.

Tbc


	7. Chapter 7

Reel FX and Twentieth Century Fox own Book of Life. I am slowly collecting various books and toys from Funko and McDonalds but I would have to stop if they sued me.

I know my pairing and references are odd but take some comfort you didn't get the Dance of the 41 scene lol. And the derivation is too much to use Gertrude. I didn't get the details on her until I was several chapters in and I just really like this concept even if it's way way AU.

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"But we're both remembered," Joaquin's mother insisted. "I know, I know, just messing with you," the Candlemaker grinned. We never had a mother-son pair of heroes before. Awesoooooome!"

Joaquin smiled awkwardly, "Who are you exactly?" "Ah, the memory loss. Once more people know you've passed on, it'll all come back." Joaquin's mother gently took his hand, "It'll be alright. We can just stay in the land of the remembered until then. Candlemaker, if you'll excuse us..." "Of course, of course! San Angel has all sorts of epic, trust me!"

Joaquin glanced back at the golden figure as he and his mother rode on. "You could go back right now, you know," she said as the first lights of the land of the remembered came into view. "Seeing my son fully grown, heroic and remembered and loved... It's enough to tide me over until it's your time." Joaquin pulled out the book from his jacket, "I just wish I could remember who gave me this." Inside the front cover were Maria's overcaffeinated scrawl and Manolo's artful signature. "I died fighting Chakal, so I can't provide much help there. But it's very sweet of them," she mused as she looked over the pages. "But the pages are blank," he muttered.

Joaquin's mother just shook her head playfully as her eyes filled with joy, "Because it's up to you to fill them. The Candlemaker back there told me the same thing. When I got here, my pages had wet ink on them. Very few people here can say that, Joaquin. Most entries in the book of life are written well before the people pass on." Joaquin pulled off his eyepatch and took in his mother's skeletal face. The markings their skulls shared were more subtle but their eyes were the same. She gave him a big hug before calling for Xibalba.

"Okay, okay, you won the bet, no need to be smug," the tar-covered God said. "Just leap up and shout your name as you do."

Joaquin catapulted into the air, but immediately felt something latch onto one of his legs. Chakal's mocking laughter followed him back into the land of the living, "See you in San Angel, son!"

Tbc


	8. Chapter 8

Reel FX and Twentieth Century Fox own Book of Life. I am slowly collecting various books and toys from Funko and McDonalds but I would have to stop if they sued me.

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Joaquin gasped for air the minute he returned to his body. General Posada turned his head towards him, utter relief and something else in his eyes. "I was so worried! You and that reckless bet of yours. And where's your eyepatch?" Joaquin stayed in the hug that ensued longer than was probably proper. It was still dark out, just barely day of the dead.

"I wanted to look at you with both my eyes." The General stared at him in utter disbelief, "What are you saying?"

"No time now, we have to ride to San Angel before Chakal gets there." "Chakal is back? What did you do?!" The General shrieked as Joaquin got on the horse. "My OGT of a dad hitched a ride out, what can I say? But there's nothing the two of us can't do together," Joaquin smiled as he felt the other man's arms wrap around his waist. "And the rest of the town?" "Them too, I guess. I just don't remember much beyond us at the moment." The General turned bright red as the two rode towards San Angel.

A long period of silence and then... "My daughter says the sunrise outside San Angel is the most beautiful thing she's ever seen," General Posada said as they drew close. It was still dark but part of him had hoped to see it.

"Wait- you have kids?"

"Just a daughter, about your age."

Joaquin frowned, trying to remember. "I don't remember you being married."

"My wife and I split up after Maria was born and she moved to Spain. I may have also tried to push you and my daughter together aggressively."

"That has to be one of the worse closet cases stories ever," Joaquin laughed.

"Yes, it wasn't my finest hour and looking back, I see I really hurt you. I thought the scandal would be worse but seeing how happy my daughter and her husband are..."

"What's his name?"

"Manolo Sanchez. I take it you forgot him too?" The general said quietly.

"Yes. They must not have known I was dead so..."

"I'm sorry."

"It can't be helped. Anyway, I get the feeling I needed to focus on you a bit," Joaquin said, looking back at the general.

And there it was, slowly coming into view, the same manner of sunrise that Manolo had shown Maria when he had proposed.

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Chakal, looking something like a revived corpse, was tearing through San Angel. "Well, the years haven't been kind to him," Maria's mother muttered as she peered out. "He should have just stayed here and played his music so I wouldn't have been stuck in a pitiful sham of a marriage with the town pederast." "Mother! That's not a great term for it either," Maria hissed. "Hush, everyone in town knows anyway." Maria sighed, "So not the point... Just stay with Carmen. Manolo and I will fight him off." "Wait what? But he's a vampire or chupacabra or something." Maria nodded, "upper left drawer. The art retreat to Romania ended up including ridding the area of vampires." Manolo turned to his mother-in-law, "What sort of nuns were these?"

Chakal then yelled for the townspeople to come out. Maria looked at her mother seriously as she handed her the baby, "Trapdoor under this rug. Stay in there until I give the signal." Carmen fussed a little. "What if she starts crying?" Maria's mother asked as Maria and Manolo headed out, stakes in hand. "If she looks like she's about to cry, just get her bottle. Chakal invading town trumps the usual feeding schedule," Manolo said as he shut the door behind him. "No retreat, no surrender!"

Tbc


	9. Chapter 9

Reel FX and Twentieth Century Fox own Book of Life. I am slowly collecting various books and toys from Funko and McDonalds but I would have to stop if they sued me.

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Utter chaos greeted Joaquin Mondragon and General Jose Posada as they wrote through the gates. The general pulled out his handkerchief and tied it around Joaquin's bad eye.

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"He can't be a vampire if he's out past sunrise. Ideas?" Maria shouted as she flipped away from Chakal. "Another apology song?" Manolo shrugged. Chakal's eyes flared, "I once wanted nothing more than to play music." "You still could?" Manolo smiled weakly. Chakal lunged forward, grabbed him by the leg and flipped him upside down, "Let's see how well you play after I gut you, little mariachi bullfighter man."

"Let him go!" Maria and Joaquin cried in unison.

Maria sighed in relief, "You two came back!" "You must be Maria, right?" Joaquin replied. "What do you mean- don't you remember?" "Not now- My father and I have some unfinished business." "Chakal is really your father?!" "We'll explain everything afterwards," the general whispered to Maria.

Chakal used the interruption to flee the town, Manolo still in his grasp. Joaquin and Maria raced after them. Joaquin wasted no time in taunting his quarry,"There isn't anywhere you can hide, given your size, 'Captain'. "There is no way you can beat me and if you continue to follow, I'll kill your little friend," Chakal snapped. "Let whatshisname go!" Joaquin yelled. "Manolo!" Maria yelled with a mixture of worry and annoyance. The General followed as well, as fast as his legs would allow. /I'm not losing you again./ It was the first time he could hear the voice of duty and his heart in unison.

"Perhaps I should just go back to the land of the forgotten with you," Chakal hissed in Manolo's ear. "I was so much like you when I was younger that I'm sure I can easily shape you into the instrument of my revenge once your memories fade."

Upon reaching the outskirts of town, Joaquin stopped and glanced at the ground below, as if searching for something. "What are you doing? My husband is out there!" Maria shouted. "Do you remember where we buried Chakal?" Joaquin asked. "Oh! That mound over there, why?" Joaquin grinned, "Got anything to eat?" Maria grinned mischievously as she pulled some corn from her pocket (it was the only way she could stand to wear skirts), "I was saving this for Chuy but I think your father might like it more." "Chuy?" Joaquin asked as she set it on the mound. "Oh come on, you don't even remember Chuy?" Joaquin shook his head, "I wouldn't have remembered anything at all if not for your father." Maria studied him, slightly surprised by his tone.

"I'm going to take this little one back with me," Chakal called out. Manolo raised both of his legs and slammed them against Chakal's foot, finally breaking free. He ran, Chakal in close pursuit.

Tbconcluded


	10. Chapter 10

Reel FX and Twentieth Century Fox own Book of Life. I just ordered the last of the McDonalds-only characters but I would have to stop from getting the whole set if they sued me. Doesn't look like there's anything new coming out from Funko though. :(

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"I know my father, the real Captain Mondragon, was a good man once. If he had remained true to himself, he could have brought joy to so many with his music, been the man instead of a monster," Joaquin murmured as he put up a makeshift grave marker. The General had finally caught up and used his hook to engrave Chakal's real name. "I hope this works," Maria whispered.

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Manolo kept running, well aware he couldn't outrun Chakal for long but at least he could lure him away from the town. He closed his eyes as he felt Chakal grab him, silently praying he wouldn't be forgotten.

*Thud*

Manolo fell back, staring right up at La Muerte. She smiled kindly at him before drawing closer and closer. Manolo closed his eyes, heart racing at the prospect of being separated from his family here- was this what his own mother felt when she died protecting him?- and then felt La Muerte pass over him. She grabbed Chakal, "It seems you've been remembered after all, Captain." Chakal grinned, "Finally, I'm going where I should have in the first place." La Muerte shook her head, "Oh, Nononononononononononononononono. There is another realm for those whose wickedness is remembered for cautionary reasons rather than love, of unfed monsters no worse and often much more so than you, and it is calling for you." Manolo watched in amazement as Chakal looked genuinely terrified at La Muerte. "Thank you, my lady," he said as the goddess and the bandit sank into the ground, Chakal looking utterly horrified at the prospect.

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"You're alive!" Maria practically tackled her husband in her relief. Manolo also saw Joaquin and her father approaching behind her.

"We were worried about you, brother. Started to think you'd miss Carmen's baptism!" Manolo beamed. "Is that your daughter?" Joaquin asked. "You probably don't remember but we asked you to be our child's godfather," Maria replied. "I'm sorry. You seem to be wonderful friends but I lost my memory in the land of the forgotten," Joaquin explained. "Then we will fill you in and create many more memories. I already composed a ballad or two about your heroics, " Manolo grinned.

As they drew close to San Angel, the musician added, "I find hard to believe someone like Chakal could truly be your father." Joaquin shook his head, "That's because you haven't met my mother. She's the real hero. She married Chakal to save her hometown, escaped so he wouldn't raise me and she singlehandedly fought him off to protect San Angel." "That's a beautiful story but you know you'll have to elaborate later," Maria smiled. Joaquin then hugged his two best friends in the whole world, memories be damned, it just felt right. Like they were his family.

Then, Joaquin and the general's eyes met. He was something else...

"One other thing- I don't think grandparents are allowed to be godparents too, right?"

Manolo looked at Joaquin, utterly confused by the question. "I knew it!" Maria squealed- shades of her mother even. "How long have you two been together?" "Well, we first felt something right before I left town but we never acted on it until now," Joaquin said as he took the General, no, Jose into his arms. Manolo let go of his guitar as he saw his best friend and former rival kissing his father-in-law. Maria caught it before it hit the ground.

"I'm not going to call you dad, " Manolo stated after he recovered from the shock.

So, in the end, the Candlemaker agreed to officiate Private Joaquin Mondragon and General Jose Posada's wedding. The town priest was happy for them but he knew his higher-ups had their far _less_ ancient rules on the subject. So the traditional 8 day celebration for new godparents was waived as well, since the entire christening was to be held on Day of the Dead. La Muerte and Xibalba couldn't stay past then. So little Carmen was making out like a bandit- gods for godparents and a new grandpa...

Or two?

After the wedding, Maria's mother sat next to the Rodriguez brothers. "I can't believe General Posada and Joaquin were gay the whole time! If I'd known, I could've had a chance with one of them," Pablo said. "Wait, you're gay?" Pancho asked. Maria's mother looked at them oddly, "You guys are brothers and play together but don't know anything about each-other's personal lives? Or get invited to family weddings? And why are all the good men in town gay, married or both?" "I'm not," Pepe said with a flirtatious grin. "That's what I'm talking about," Maria's mother said as she draped her arms around him. Pepe stammered, "Señora Mondr- Luz?" She laughed, every bit the flapper, "Call me Dora." So, yeah, little Carmen eventually got a third grandpa too.

THE END


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